Barriers to birth registration in Indonesia.

www.thelancet.com/lancetgh Vol 4 April 2016 e234 2013 legal amendment to eliminate fees for all CRVS documents, the implementation of these laws has been inconsistent across regions, and many parents continue to pay hidden fees. Acquisition of the prerequisite documents, including parents’ marriage certifi cates (found to increase a child’s odds of birth certificate ownership by 90%), contributes to the fi nancial burden of applying for a birth certifi cate. A marriage certifi cate from birth parents is among the six documents required, and is costly and complicated to obtain. Many religious marriages remain unregistered by the state. In regions such as NTT, these costs are compounded by cultural expectations for expensive religious weddings, which often prevent couples from entering into both religious and civil marriage. Without a marriage certifi cate, a child is issued a birth certifi cate specifi c to children born out of wedlock; this document is stigmatising, further deterring unmarried couples from registering their children. Navigating Indonesia’s complex CRVS system was an impediment for 130 (12%) respondents, and potentially required them to interact with several governmental agencies, including the courts, to obtain marriage legalisation, the civil Barriers to birth registration in Indonesia